Mara Hoplamazian

Hey, it's Marielle.

I want you to look around your home.

Do you have a nonstick frying pan?

A raincoat?

Dental floss designed to slide easily between your teeth?

All of these items have something in common.

They often contain man-made chemicals called PFAS.

That stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

They're in a lot of stuff that we as humans really like, like nonstick pans that are really great for frying eggs or raincoats that keep you really dry.

But the same qualities that make them useful also make them really difficult to break down.

So they can stick around for a long time in our bodies and the environment.

New Hampshire public radio reporter Mara Hoplamazian has spent years reporting on PFAS, which are also known as forever chemicals.

One reason for that nickname is that they're super strong, in part because one of the things that unites this whole group of chemicals is that they have a bond between a fluorine atom and a carbon atom, which is the strongest single bond in organic chemistry.

PFAS are everywhere.

They build up in our bodies.

And even tiny amounts are linked to serious health problems like cancer, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, preeclampsia, ulcerative colitis, and more.

And a major source of exposure for a lot of people is drinking water.

Government estimates show that these chemicals are coming out of the taps in nearly half of homes in America.

Mara is the host of a podcast called Safe to Drink.

It follows the story of one town that finds out its water has been contaminated.